U.S. President Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to withdraw his country from the World Trade Organization (WTO) unless it starts treating America better.
"If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO," Trump told Bloomberg News in an interview at the White House.
The president claims the organization has been treating the U.S. "very badly" even though the U.S. has won 87 percent of the cases it brings to the WTO against other countries, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
But Trump's decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from other countries, combined with additional tariffs on Chinese goods, has put the U.S. in a difficult position.
Turkey’s Trade Ministry announced on Aug. 20 that it had launched a legal process against Washington’s decision to impose tariffs on imports of Turkish steel and aluminum.
India, China, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Russia, Mexico and the European Union have also started legal processes against the U.S. at the WTO, according to the ministry.
Trump’s tirade against the WTO is not the first instance of criticism by the U.S. against the organization.
In January, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that allowing China into the WTO in 2001 was a mistake.
But experts argue that bringing China into the WTO and the global trade system was a successful way to avoid potential trade wars.
While the U.S. has led the way in shaping the global economy and free market trade system in the post-World War II era, its withdrawal from the WTO would strike a major blow to itself, the global economy and financial markets, experts warn.
U.S. President Donald Trump failed to fulfill a promise made to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their historic June summit in Singapore that he would soon sign a declaration ending the Korean War, according to a report published Wednesday.Vox News highlighted how Trump's decision to ‘move the goalposts and make it conditional’ led to the recent stalemate in negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.The report said Trump had promised to sign the peace declaration, which would officially put an end to the war between North and South Korea, but months have passed and nothing has happened.The Trump administration is now saying that North Korea needs to get rid of its nuclear arsenal first before it can sign any peace agreement, while Pyongyang is saying Trump's failure to keep his word has made it reluctant to denuclearize.Trump: Wargames with South Korea could resume instantly"I’m not familiar with that being part of the overall agreement, but I can tell you that we believe that denuclearization has to take place before we get to other parts," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in response to a question from a reporter.The White House has yet to make any statements on the issue.Trump and Kim met on June 12 in Singapore and reached an agreement on the removal of nuclear weapons in North Korea.But the diplomatic harmony between the two countries deteriorated in the ensuing weeks, and the U.S. began accusing Pyongyang of not making any progress on dismantling its arsenal.While fighting between the two Koreas was paused with the July 1953 armistice, the war has technically continued because no formal peace treaty has been signed.
Trump failed to fulfill promise to North Korea: Report
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he could restart wargames with South Korea "instantly" but maintained "there is no reason at this time" for them to re-commence.Trump posted what he said was a White House statement to Twitter that largely focused on China, blaming Beijing for ongoing inertia in talks aimed at securing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.Trump said China is giving Pyongyang "considerable aid, including money, fuel, fertilizer and various other commodities".US says no plan to suspend more SKorea military drills"This is not helpful!" he said in a now signature brief exclamation.The president praised his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un but made a veiled threat to the North over joint military drills with the South which Trump previously called "very provocative," echoing the North's rhetoric, before calling them off."The President can instantly start the joint exercises again with South Korea, and Japan, if he so chooses. If he does, they will be far bigger than ever before," Trump said.No talks with US over resuming military drills: SeoulThe comments add to growing confusion over the joint drills.On Tuesday, Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon that while the U.S. called off the summer wargames with the South, there are no plans currently in place to halt additional joint exercises."At this time, there is no discussion about further suspensions," Mattis said. "We're making no changes to the exercise program at this time."The defense chief said Trump's decision to cancel exercises planned for this summer was a "good faith" measure following the president's historic sit-down with Kim in Singapore last June.The U.S. has conducted military drills with South Korea since the 1950s and has roughly 28,000 troops stationed there.
Trump: Wargames with South Korea could resume instantly
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said White House Counsel Don McGahn will leave his post in the fall, after shepherding the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court."White House Counsel Don McGahn will be leaving his position in the fall, shortly after the confirmation (hopefully) of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court," Trump wrote on Twitter. "I have worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate his service!" 
White House Counsel McGahn to leave post in the fall: Trump
Former Republican presidential candidate and current Senator hopeful Mitt Romney once described U.S. President Donald Trump as a “con artist”. Slander and defamation aside, the former governor might have been right. Trump has spent his life trying to sell more than he can deliver, from his Atlantic City casinos that went bankrupt, to his university that went bust.Yet failure never deterred Trump, perhaps because “once a salesman, always a salesman”. Without experience in any kind of government office, and without experience in any job other than owning, and bankrupting, his own companies, Trump ran for presidential election on his “business success”, and promised to deliver similar results for the country.Before the White House, Trump dismissed strong job reports, from the Labor Department, and called them “doctored”. After becoming president, Trump started hailing the same reports as an indicator of his success. The same double-standard applied to almost every aspect of governance under the U.S. president: When things succeed, he claims credit for them even if they were the result of the work of his predecessors. When things fail, he blames his predecessors for his own mistakes and shortcomings.Trump warns evangelical leaders privately of ‘violence’ if Republicans lose midtermsFact checkers have repeatedly described Trump as the president who has uttered the biggest number of lies. Yet this never deterred Trump from persisting with even more lies. More importantly, Trump’s falsehoods do not seem to have deterred his followers either, little in number as they may be. To date, despite all his proven lies, some with legal ramifications, Trump still enjoys the unwavering support of a core of Republicans, estimated to be one-third of the party’s voters.Given the steady support from his fans, Trump has come to think that his salesmanship is the secret ingredient that has brought him this far, and that can protect him, going forward, against possible entanglements with the law.Nothing new, China says about Trump accusation of Clinton email hackTrump’s populist tactic means that, in facing any accusations against him and possible indictments, he depends on two things: His diehard supporters, and his vast prerogatives as a president, prerogatives that he has used so far to fire half a dozen senior law enforcement officials who had refused to shutdown investigations into his possible collusion with foreign governments, such as Russia.Together with his impulsive statements and undisciplined tweets, Trump’s chaotic management at the White House has meant that he has not organized any effective legal defense, should investigations reach his doorstep. Instead of trying to counter Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating into possible Russian interference in America’s 2016 election, Trump has gone after Mueller, and has tried to discredit the special counsel and his integrity.Trump accuses Google of rigging search resultsWhat Trump has missed is that Lady Justice covers her eyes, while holding the scales, for a reason. Justice was designed to proceed regardless of popular opinion, and even though the president is technically the chief law enforcer, his power has limitations, mainly due to America’s decentralized system.So far, Mueller has outsmarted Trump on many fronts. First, unlike the chatty Trump, Mueller has remained silent, and has run a tight ship of investigations without leaks. Second, Mueller realizes that Trump has authority to pardon the indicted and dismiss prosecutors, but Trump’s power is over federal law-enforcement only, and does not cover state law-enforcement. Henceforth, the special counsel has collected enough convicting evidence and handed them over to local state prosecutors.Trump envoy urges Iraqi officials to quickly form gov’tSo far, the cases of Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen, his confidant and publisher of the National Enquirer David Pecker, and his Chief Financial Officer at the Trump Organization Allen Weisselberg, have been litigated at the local state level. This means that even if Trump were to dismiss Mueller, these cases will not be interrupted.The only case remaining in federal hands is that of Trump’s former presidential Campaign Manager Paul Manafort, who was indicted in a case of tax fraud, on eight out of 18 counts. Manafort awaits a second trial pertaining to his connections with the government of Ukraine. While Trump thinks that he can pardon Manafort and end his trials, most law experts believe that a presidential pardon cannot stop state prosecutors from picking up where Mueller was interrupted.Trump blames China for hacking of Clinton emails, offers no evidenceAmong the four big Trump associates who have been flipped, indicted or have entered a plea deal, only Manafort stands out as the one who was not close to Trump before the 2016 presidential campaign. This might have convinced Mueller that while other associates of Trump were guilty, in some form or another, Manafort deserves special attention for being an outsider, someone who was introduced to the Trump team by a foreign government. Based on speculation only, it seems that Mueller believes that Manafort holds the keys to the alleged Trump collision with Moscow.Trump has already tried to preempt any findings. He has said that “there was no collusion with Russia, and even if there were, nothing in the law prohibits it,” a disputed interoperation of the law. If collusion is ever unveiled, the U.S. president will face a host of criminal accusations, including under laws such as the Espionage Act.Trump has also been the first to utter the word impeachment. In an interview with Fox News, Trump threatened that if he were impeached, the stock market would collapse and every American would become poor. While it remains hard to substantiate Trump’s economic argument, the U.S. president might have chosen to mention impeachment as yet another way to rally his supporters against the investigation.Trump might eventually fire Mueller, in addition to the top brass at the Justice Department, in order to derail the investigation. But so far, it seems that such tactics have done little to stop justice. If the U.S. president is to stand a chance in proving his innocence, he will need to play the legal game according to the known rules: Hire a team of top lawyers and ask them to counter the formidable Mueller team. Anything else does not seem to be working in Trump’s favor, and may threaten his stay in the White House. Twitter may prove inadequate for saving Trump out of his legal trouble.
Can Trump tweet his way out?
U.S. President Donald Trump warned evangelical leaders during a closed-door meeting of "violence" from leftists should Republicans lose November's midterm elections, according to an audio tape provided to The New York Times by someone who attended the event."The level of hatred, the level of anger is unbelievable," Trump said during a private portion of a Monday evening event at the White House."Part of it is because of some of the things I've done for you and for me and for my family, but I've done them…This Nov. 6 election is very much a referendum on not only me, it's a referendum on your religion, it's a referendum on free speech and the First Amendment," he added.US says no plan to suspend more SKorea military drillsShould Republicans lose November's midterms, Trump said "they will overturn everything that we've done and they'll do it quickly and violently, and violently. There's violence. When you look at Antifa and you look at some of these groups — these are violent people."Trump was referring to the black-clad group of far-leftists known as Antifa who have showed up at demonstrations across the U.S., sometimes turning to violence.The president further claimed he got rid of a law known as the Johnson Amendment that prohibits non-profits, including religious organizations and charities, from endorsing or opposing political candidates.Trump accuses Google of rigging search results"Now you're not silenced anymore. It's gone and there's no penalty anymore and if you like somebody or if you don't like somebody you can go out and say, 'This man is going to be great for evangelicals, or for Christianity or for another religion. This person is somebody that I like and I'm going to talk about it on Sunday," he said.But the law remains on the books despite Trump's efforts and decades of opposition from evangelicals.Trump signed an executive order early into his presidency aimed at easing the Johnson Amendment, but it did not undo the law as he claimed. That can only be done by Congress or the Supreme Court, should it rule the law unconstitutional, which it has not.Evangelicals are a large voting bloc for the president, and Monday night's event in the State Dining Room was a bid to solidify their support.Trump blames China for hacking of Clinton emails, offers no evidence
Trump warns evangelical leaders privately of ‘violence’ if Republicans lose midterms